Test Inside Advanced的130题里第99题:

libname A 'SAS library reference';
libname F 'SAS library reference';
options fmtsearch=(A F.X);

What is the second location searched for formats?

A. F.X
B. A.FORMATS
C. WORK.FORMATS
D. SAS supplied formats

Answer: C

我从SAS帮助查到一下:

Details

The WORK.FORMATS catalog is always searched first, and the LIBRARY.FORMATS catalog is searched next, unless one of them appears in the FMTSEARCH= list.
If a catalog appears in the FMTSEARCH= list, the catalog is searched in the order in which it appears in the list. If a catalog in the list does not exist, that particular item is ignored and searching continues.

我开始以为答案是 F.X因为它出现在fmtsearch=的第二个位置。 但是答案应该是WORK.FORMATS因为虽然F library已经定位，但是自动查找的是F.FORMATS而不是F.X, 所以F.X被忽视后fmtsearch自动去找WORK.FORMATS然后LIBRARY.FORMATS?